Monday, May 5, 2014

Teacher Appreciation - Giveaway and Freebie!

A big thank you to Michelle from 3AM Teacher and Marcy from Simply Sprout Educate for the graphics for the giveaway header picture!

I am joining with my friend, Amy from Teaching in Blue Jeans to lather on a little bit of Teacher Appreciation in honor of Teacher Appreciation this week.

She is hosting a BIG giveaway with over 100 participating bloggers! We are all donating our best selling Teachers Pay Teachers items as the grand prize - so you are getting the best of the best! Many of the bloggers are also participating in a blog hop where we share how we use these products, and you just might find a freebie or two along the way!

Why are we doing this? Because we know as teachers how AMAZING all of you are and we want to share a little love!

My math journals are written using the MESS model for problem solving. You can see the anchor chart we use below which explains it a little better.

As you can see from the anchor chart the MESS acronym stands for:

M - Model

E - Equation

S- Solution

S- Sentence

The students learn to use the acronym to help them set up a written response to a math problem so that they not only know where to start, but also all of the parts to include. It is really easy to remember and they LOVE the idea of being encouraged to "Make a Mess".

I started my students off with the anchor chart above, then gave them my math journals which are set up using this method, and include 4 math prompts for each standard. I print out the ones that my students need to work on most and place them in a folder for math journal time.

This student started to divide the given numbers (963/10) but then raised her hand and asked if she could round first. I told her, "Try it!"

The students become better and better at writing responses as we share methods and responses throughout the year. Towards the end of the year in preparation for testing, I start giving them prompts without the model to guide them. After working with the MESS model all year, they know what to do, and are better prepared. I really emphasize perseverance and trying things out before raising their hands to ask for help. I compare it to a video game. I say, "If you don't pass a level on a video game, you don't call me up and ask for help, you try something different, you persevere until you figure it out. That is exactly what mathematicians do!"

They now beg to do problem solving. Here is a sample of an extra problem I used with them this year.

This problem was not from my Math Journals, but I prettied it up and made it available as a freebie in my TPT store.

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